Personal monitoring system

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for improved personal monitoring systems and devices include the provision of sensor data from a personal monitoring device to a server system. The sensor device is provided to the server system at a first rate and subsequently analyzed by the server system. If the server system determines that a particular condition is met based on the sensor data the server system transmits a reconfiguration message to the personal monitoring device that causes the personal monitoring device to automatically begin providing data at a second rate. Among other things, the condition resulting in generation and transmission of the reconfiguration message may include a location-based condition (e.g., crossing a geographic boundary), a change in an environmental condition (e.g., temperature or air quality), or a movement-based condition (e.g., an acceleration indicative of a fall or collision).

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is related to and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) from U.S. Patent Application No. 62/780,652, filed Dec. 17, 2018,entitled “Personal Monitoring System”, the entire contents of which isincorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems, methods, and devicesfor facilitating personal monitoring. Among other things,implementations of the present disclosure include personal monitoringdevices and associated computing systems for communicating with thepersonal monitoring devices and receiving and processing data from thepersonal monitoring devices.

BACKGROUND

Personal tracking systems generally enable a remote user to determinethe location or similar details regarding a user of a personal trackingdevice. Such systems have many applications including general monitoringof children, the disabled, the elderly, or other similar individuals andidentification and reporting of emergency situations. Among otherthings, such systems may provide the monitored individual with a greaterdegree of autonomy (e.g., versus being in a constantly and more directlymonitored environment, such as a nursing home) while simultaneouslyproviding the caretaker with the peace of mind that any potentiallyhazardous situations that may arise will be quickly identified andaddressed.

Conventional tracking and monitoring systems often require a tradeoffbetween functionality, device format, and battery life. So, for example,small, energy efficient monitoring devices are often have limitedfunctionality, such as the amount and type of data they provide.Conversely, more sophisticated and feature-heavy monitoring devicesoften require a larger device or a device requiring more power. In lightof the foregoing, there is a need for a personal monitoring systemhaving sophisticated features and functionality without significantimpact to the form or life of the personal monitoring device.

It is with the foregoing in mind, among other things, that aspects ofthe present disclosure were conceived and developed.

SUMMARY

In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method of tracking devices isprovided. The method includes receiving sensor data at a first computingdevice from a second computing device at a first rate. The firstcomputing device then determines whether the sensor data indicates areconfiguration condition. In response to determining that the sensordata indicates a reconfiguration condition, the first computing devicegenerates and transmits a reconfiguration message to the secondcomputing device, the reconfiguration message configured toautomatically cause the second computing device to begin providingsensor data at a second rate different than the first rate.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, another method of trackingcomputing devices is provided. The method includes periodicallytransmitting sensor data at a first rate from a first computing deviceto a second computing device. The method further includes receiving areconfiguration message from the second computing device at the firstcomputing device in response to the sensor data. In response to thereconfiguration message, the first computing device begins periodicallytransmitting sensor data at a second rate different than the first rate.

In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a system for trackingcomputing devices is provided. The system includes one or more hardwareprocessors configured by machine-readable instruction to receive sensordata from a computing device at a first rate. The instructions furthercause the one or more hardware processors to determine that the sensordata indicates a reconfiguration condition. The instructions furthercause the one or more hardware processors to generate and transmit areconfiguration message to the computing device, the reconfigurationmessage configured to automatically cause the computing device to beginproviding sensor data at a second rate different than the first rate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentdisclosure set forth herein will be apparent from the followingdescription of particular implementations of those inventive concepts,as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that thedrawings are not necessarily to scale; however the emphasis instead isbeing placed on illustrating the principles of the inventive concepts.Also, in the drawings the like reference characters may refer to thesame parts or similar throughout the different views. It is intendedthat the implementations disclosed herein are to be consideredillustrative rather than limiting.

FIG. 1 is a system diagram illustrating an example operationalenvironment for implementations of the present disclosure including apersonal monitoring device and a server system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of thepersonal monitoring device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example power system of thepersonal monitoring device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an isometric illustration of a first example personalmonitoring device according to the present disclosure;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are front and rear views, respectively, a second examplepersonal monitoring device according to the present disclosure;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are front and rear views, respectively, of a thirdexample personal monitoring device according to the present disclosure;

FIGS. 7A-7C are front, side, and rear views, respectively, of a fourthexample personal monitoring device according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating an example method of transmittingsensor data from a personal monitoring device according to the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating an example method of receiving andprocessing data sensor data at a server from a personal monitoringdevice in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating an example method of low poweroperation of a personal monitoring in accordance with the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating an example method of operating aserver in conjunction with a personal monitoring device;

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating an example method of processing arequest for sensor data from a remote computing device; and

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a computing system that may be used toimplement aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure is directed to methods, systems, and devices forpersonal monitoring. Among other things, implementations of the presentdisclosure include a personal monitoring device in communication with aserver system that receives and processes sensor data (such as, but notlimited to, location and acceleration data) from the personal monitoringdevice. The server system is also accessible by a remote computingdevice (such as a smartphone, tablet, or personal computer) such that auser of the remote computing device can, among other things, access andevaluate the sensor data provided by the personal monitoring device orbe alerted when the sensor data provided by the personal monitoringdevice indicates the occurrence of certain events.

Although a wide range of example applications are discussed herein, inone specific example, the personal monitoring device may be provided toa child such that the personal monitoring device periodically providesthe location of the child to the server system. A parent operating theremote computing device can subsequently access the location data todetermine the location of their child. In such implementations, theserver system may also be configured to transmit an alert or othernotification to the remote computing device in the event the child exitsa defined area, is within proximity of a particular location, orotherwise meets a location-related criteria. In another exampleimplementation, the personal monitoring device may be used by an elderlyperson and configured to transmit acceleration and location data when anaccelerometer of the personal monitoring device measures accelerationabove a threshold indicative of a fall. In such implementations, thepersonal monitoring device and server system may automatically initiatea call to an emergency contact or emergency service, automaticallytransmit a notification to the remote computing device, or take othersimilar steps to initiate assistance for the user of the personalmonitoring device.

In implementations of the present disclosure, the personal monitoringdevice is generally configured to have relatively simple and limitedfunctionality. For example, while the personal monitoring device maymeasure and store sensor data, processing of the sensor data todetermine whether monitoring conditions (e.g., leaving a geographicarea, a fall, etc.) have been met is generally handled by the serversystem. Moreover, personal monitoring devices in accordance with thepresent disclosure may also include functionality to modify sensorsampling rates or to operate in low-power modes in order to preservebattery charge.

The foregoing aspects of the present disclosure, among others, are nowprovided in further detail with reference to the figures.

A. System Overview

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a network environment 100 forimplementing aspects of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, thenetwork environment 100 includes a personal monitoring device 102 incommunication with a server system 104 over a network 108. The networkenvironment 100 further includes a remote device 106 in communicationwith the server system 104 over a network 110, and an external computersystem 116 in communication with the server system 104 over a network112. The server system 104 may also include or be in communication withone or more data sources, such as data store 118.

For simplicity, the network environment 100 of FIG. 1 is illustrated asincluding a single instance of each environmental element. However, itshould be appreciated that the network environment 100 is intendedmerely as a basic example to illustrate aspects of the presentdisclosure. More generally, network environments in accordance with thepresent disclosure may include one or more of any of the networkelements illustrated in FIG. 1. So, for example, implementations of thepresent disclosure may connect any number of personal monitoring devices102 to any number of remote computing devices 106 via any number ofserver systems 104. Moreover, while illustrated as individual blocks,each element may instead be distributed over multiple systems ordevices. For example, each of the server system 104 and the data store118 may be distributed across multiple computing devices or systems,such as in a cloud computing environment.

Personal monitoring device 102 is generally a wearable or otherwiseportable computing device including one or more sensors including, forexample and without limitation, location-based sensors, movement-basedsensors, environmental sensors, and the like. During operation, thepersonal monitoring device 102 collects data from its onboard sensorsand transmits the sensor data to the server system 104. In certainimplementations, the personal monitoring device 102 may be a deviceintended to be worn or carried by a child, elderly person, or otherindividual who, due to age, mental state, or other condition, mayrequire periodic or constant monitoring.

The server system 104 in turn processes and stores the data, such as indata store 118. As described herein in further detail, processing thesensor data received from the personal monitoring device 102 includesmay include a wide range of functions. Among other things, processingthe sensor data may include determining whether the personal monitoringdevice 102 is within or outside of particular location or environment orwhether movement data from the personal monitoring device 102 indicatesthat a user may have fallen, been struck by a vehicle, etc. In response,the server system 104 may, among other things and without limitation,transmit reconfiguration messages to the personal monitoring device 102,transmit alerts or notifications to the remote computing device 106, orperform similar responsive actions.

The server system 104 may also provide access to the collected sensordata regardless of whether a reportable event has occurred. For example,a parent, guardian, or similar user may access data collected by theserver system using the remote computing device 106. The remotecomputing device 106 may be a smart phone, laptop, tablet, desktopcomputer, or any other similar computing device and may access the dataon the server system 104 using an application, program, web browser,etc. executed on the remote computing device 106. In someimplementations, the server system 104 may generate and provide graphs,tables, maps, or other representations of the collected sensor data forpresentation on the remote computing device 106.

In addition to presenting collected sensor data, the remote computingdevice 106 may be used to communicate with the server system 104 toconfigure or otherwise establish rules and corresponding actions to betaken by the server system 104. Each rule may generally include one ormore conditions related to location, environment, or other parametermeasurable by the personal monitoring device 102. When the one or moreconditions are met, the server system 104 may then execute an actionsuch as, but not limited to, generating and transmitting an alert ornotification to the personal monitoring device 102 and/or the remotecomputing device 106, initiating a call or communication link betweenthe personal monitoring device 102 and/or the remote computing device106, transmitting an alert or notification to a third-party (e.g., acaretaker, teacher, healthcare professional, or similar individual),transmitting a message to the personal monitoring device 102 to modifyoperation of the personal monitoring device 102, or other similaractions. Specific but non-limiting examples of such functionality areprovided herein.

To facilitate the various functions provided by the server system 104,the server system 104 may access or otherwise communicate with one ormore external computer systems 116. Such computing systems may include,without limitation, mapping/geolocations systems (e.g., for accessingmap information over which collected sensor data may be overlaid),weather data systems (e.g., to access various air quality metrics),payment systems, communication systems, social media systems, ridesharing systems, etc.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, each of the personal monitoring device 102,the remote computing device 106, and the external computer system 116 iscommunicatively coupled to the server system 104 by a respective network108, 110, 112. Although illustrated as separate networks, the networks108, 110, and 112 may instead correspond to a single, broader network,such as the Internet. More generally, the networks 108, 110, and 112represent any suitable communication connection to the server system104. Similarly, each network 108, 110, 112 may use any suitablecommunication medium or protocol and, in particular, may be implementedusing wired, wireless, or a combination of wired and wirelessconnections.

The personal monitoring device 102 is also illustrated as beingconnected to the remote computing device 106 by a network 114. Similarto the networks 108-112, the network 114 may be any suitable networkusing any suitable communication protocol. Nevertheless, in at leastcertain implementations, the network 114 may be a cellular network thatenables cellular communication between the personal monitoring device102 and the remote computing device 106.

In certain implementations, any of the personal monitoring device 102,the server system 104, and the remote computing device 106 may store andmaintain information and data for a particular user of the personalmonitoring device 102 over time. Such data may include data collectedfrom the personal monitoring device 102, but also additional personaland health information provided by users of the personal monitoringdevice 102, users of the remote computing device 106 or otherindividuals, such as doctors or similar medical professionals. As suchdata is collected it may be analyzed to generate various statistics andtrends for a given user. For example and without limitation, suchstatistics may include the amount of time a user has spent in particularenvironmental conditions and the total exposure of the user to variouspollutants/particles over time. Based on such information, alerts orwarnings may be generated and transmitted to the user of the personalmonitoring device 102 or individuals associated with the user.

B. Example Personal Monitoring Device

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of thepersonal monitoring device 102. As illustrated, the personal monitoringdevice 102 includes one or more processors 202, one or more memories204, and other similar computing components. During operation, theprocessor 202 executes instructions stored in the memory 204 to controlthe other components and to process data, as described below in furtherdetail.

The personal monitoring device 102 includes a location sensor 206 formeasuring a position of the personal monitoring device 102 and, byextension, a location of a user of the personal monitoring device 102.In one implementation, the location sensor 206 may be a globalpositioning system (GPS) unit configured to periodically measure thecurrent position of the personal monitoring device 102. The locationsensor 206 may be further configured to provide additional informationbased on the collected position information. For example and withoutlimitation, such information may include speed information (e.g.,current speed, average speed) and distance information (e.g., totaldistance travelled, distance travelled from a waypoint or similarlocation).

The personal monitoring device 102 may also include one or more othersensors, collectively indicated in FIG. 2 as a sensor(s) 208, formeasuring other conditions associated with the personal monitoringdevice 102. For example and without limitation, the sensor 208 may beconfigured to measure conditions of the environment (e.g., temperature,air quality, etc.) within which the personal monitoring device 102 isdisposed or physical changes to the personal monitoring device 102(e.g., movement, acceleration, etc.).

In one specific implementation, the sensor 208 may include one or moresensors directed to measuring air quality. Such implementations may beuseful to monitor individuals with various health-related conditionsthat may be triggered or exacerbated by poor air quality including, forexample and without limitation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD), a suppressed or otherwise compromised immune system, air-borneallergies, asthma, and the like. Example air quality-related sensorsthat may be used in implementations of the present disclosure include,without limitation, one or more of a PM2.5 (or other particulate)sensor, a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, a humidity sensor, andany of a number of chemical sensors. Examples of such chemical sensorsinclude, without limitation, sensors for measuring one or more ofvolatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides(NOx), hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), and other chemicals that may beindicative of air quality.

In addition to or instead of air quality-related sensors, the sensor 208may also include other environmental sensors, such as lightsensors/photodetectors and/or one or more sensors adapted to measuremovement of the personal monitoring device. Such sensors may include,for example, one or more of an accelerometer and a gyroscope. Themovement sensors may be configured to generally track and facilitaterecording movement of the personal monitoring device 102 and, as aresult, may be used to interpret and analyze movement of the user of thepersonal monitoring device 102.

The personal monitoring device 102 may also include at least onecommunications unit 210 to facilitate communication between the personalmonitoring device 102 and one or more external devices. While thecommunications unit 210 generally facilitates communication with theserver system 104, the communications unit 210 may also facilitatecommunication with various other external devices including, withoutlimitation, one or more of another instance of the personal monitoringdevice; one or more wearable sensors; a laptop, tablet, smart phone orother computing device (including the remote computing device 106); acellular communications system; or any other device that supports suchcommunication. The communications unit 210 may be configured tocommunicate and support one or more communication protocols. Suchprotocols may include, without limitation, one or more of Bluetooth®(including Bluetooth® Low-Energy), Wi-Fi, cellular (e.g., 3G or 4Gcellular), near-field communication (NFC), or any other similarcommunication protocols. It should also be noted that while describedprimarily herein as being capable of wireless communication, thecommunications unit 210 may further include one or more ports to supportwired communication, such as a universal serial bus (USB) connection.

The personal monitoring device 102 may further include one or moreinput/output (I/O) units 212 to facilitate interaction with a user ofthe personal monitoring device 102. With respect to inputs received fromthe user, such inputs are processed by the processor 202 and used toinitiate execution of instructions stored in the memory 204 or tootherwise control operation of the personal monitoring device 102. Inone example implementation, the I/O unit 212 may include physicalbuttons and/or “virtual” buttons (e.g., buttons or icons presented on adisplay of the personal monitoring device 102). In the latter case, theI/O unit 212 may include, at least in part, a touchscreen and, as aresult, may be at least partially integrated with aspects of an outputor display device (not shown) of the personal monitoring device 102. Inother implementations, the input devices may additionally oralternatively include various other input mechanisms including, withoutlimitation, one or more of a microphone, a switch, a rotary dial, or anyother similar input mechanism.

The I/O unit 212 may include a display configured to display informationto a user of the personal monitoring device 102. In certainimplementations, the display may include a liquid crystal display (LCD)or light-emitting diode (LED) screen that may be controlled or otherwisereceive instructions from the processor 202 to display differentinformation and data. Such data and information may include, among otherthings, current readings from one or more sensors of the sensor module,menus to navigate the various features of the personal monitoringdevice, time and date information, context-specific graphics andanimations, and any other data available to or otherwise presentable bythe personal monitoring device.

The I/O unit 212 may also include various output devices to facilitatevarious forms of output to a user in response to instructions from theprocessor 202. For example and without limitation, output devices of thepersonal monitoring device 102 may include a speaker through whichaudible tones may be played to alert or otherwise notify a user ofvarious events or a vibration motor or similar haptic device to generatevibrations or other haptic outputs in response to various events. Tofacilitate the operation of such output devices, the I/O unit 212 mayfurther include other electronic components, such as but not limited todigital-to-analog converters, to convert digital signals from theprocessor 202 to analog outputs of the output devices.

The personal monitoring device 102 further includes a power system 214that generally provides power to the processor 202 and other componentsof the personal monitoring device 102.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the power system214 in further detail. In general, the power system 214 may include abattery 306 or other power source and associated circuitry for managingcharging and discharging of the battery to power components of thepersonal monitoring device 102. While various batteries types may beused, in at least certain implementations, the battery 306 is arechargeable lithium ion (Li-ion) battery. Functionality of the powersystem 214 may generally be controlled by a power controller 302 incommunication with the processor 202 of the personal monitoring device102. However, in certain implementations, functionality of the powercontroller 302 may be performed by the processor 202 directly.

The power system 214 further includes a battery charger/discharger 304adapted to monitor and control both charging of the battery 306 anddistribution of power from the battery 306 to various components of thepersonal monitoring device 102. The battery charger/discharger 304 mayfacilitate charging of the personal monitoring device 102 in variousways. For example, in certain implementations, charging may be performedby plugging the personal monitoring device 102 into a wall outlet,computing device, or other power source. In other implementations, thepersonal monitoring device 102 may be charged by, among other things,inserting the personal monitoring device 102 into a docking station thatin turn is plugged in to a power source, by inductive or other wirelesscharging methods, by a kinetic self-charging system that charges thebattery 306 in response to movement of the personal monitoring device102, or by solar cells (not shown) incorporated into the personalmonitoring device 102. It should be appreciated that any of theforegoing charging methods may be used alone or in combination toprovide power to the personal monitoring device 102.

As further illustrated in FIG. 3, the power system 214 may furtherinclude various components for modifying the power provided by thebattery 306 via the battery charger/discharger 304. Although otherarrangements are possible, the example of FIG. 3 includes circuitry forproviding power at three separate voltages (1.8V, 3.3V and 5.0V) toaccommodate various components of the personal monitoring device 102.More specifically, the power system 214 includes a regulator 308 forproviding 3.3V and each of a buck converter 310 and a boost converter312 for providing 1.8V and 5.0V, respectively.

Implementations of the present disclosure may include various featuresand functionality to balance battery life and functionality of thepersonal monitoring device 102. In general, such power managementfeatures include power management modes executable by the processor 202of the personal monitoring device 102 to selectively activate anddeactivate various components of the personal monitoring device 102and/or to modify operation of the personal monitoring device 102 and itscomponents to conserver power.

The personal monitoring device 102 may be configured to operate andtransition between one or more power modes, each of which may correspondto a different level of functionality and power consumption (e.g., a“high” or “normal power mode” and one or more “low” or modified powermodes). In certain implementations of the present disclosure, such powermanagement techniques may be used to extend the charge of the battery306 of the personal monitoring device 102 such that the personalmonitoring device 102 may operate in a low or reduced power mode for amonth or longer on a single charge.

Various components of the personal monitoring device 102 may generateheat and/or be impacted by the heat generated by other devices.Accordingly, the components of the personal monitoring device 102 may bearranged specifically to effectively manage heat flow. In one example,the personal monitoring device 102 may include one or more heat sinks orsimilar heat transfer elements to passively direct heat away from theinternal components of the personal monitoring device 102. Such heattransfer elements may extend, at least in part, to an exterior surfaceof the personal monitoring device 102 to facilitate heat removal to thesurrounding environment.

As another example, a temperature sensor (or other sensors that may beaffected by heat generated by other components of the personalmonitoring device 102) may be specifically located relative to otherheat generating components. For example, the temperature sensor may belocated on an outer edge of the personal monitoring device 102 oppositeother heat generating components of the personal monitoring device 102.In other implementations, heat-sensitive sensors may be embedded inthermal insulation to thermally isolate such sensors from heat sourcesof the personal monitoring device 102.

Power management techniques according to the present disclosure mayinclude, without limitation, modifying operation of sensors and othercomponents of the personal monitoring device 102 based on theirrespective power consumption. For a sensor of the personal monitoringdevice 102, modifying the operation of the sensor may include, amongother things, modifying a sampling rate of the sensor, activating ordeactivating the sensor, modifying how frequently data is retrieved fromthe sensor, and the like. For communication-related components of thepersonal monitoring device 102 (such as those discussed above in thecontext of the communication unit 210), modifying operation may include,among other things, changing the frequency with which data istransmitted using a particular communication method or selectivelyenabling/disabling particular communication components (e.g., a cellchip). The operation of still other components of the personalmonitoring device 102 may also be modified to conserve power. Forexample, the operation of a display of the personal monitoring device102 may be modified by, among other things, controlling the frequencywith which the display is used, the brightness/intensity of the display,and the duration for which the display is illuminated in response to aninput received from the user. In certain modes, activation of thedisplay may require input (e.g., a button press, swipe of the display,voice activation, facial recognition, or similar activity) to activatethe display. The foregoing are simply examples of ways in whichoperation of components of the personal monitoring device 102 may bemodified to conserve power and should be viewed as non-limitingexamples.

In one example power management approach, the personal monitoring device102 may automatically vary the rate at which samples are collected basedon the movement speed of the personal monitoring device 102. To do so,the processor 202 may receive information from one or more of anaccelerometer (other movement sensor) or a GPS unit (or similar locationsensor) and determine to determine the movement speed of the user. Theprocessor 202 may then scale the sampling rate of one or more of thesensors based on the speed of the user. As a result, the sensors operateat a relatively low sampling rate when the user is stationary orrelatively stationary. As the user's movement increases, the user may betransitioning between environments more rapidly. To ensure that changesbetween such environments are properly captured, the sampling rate maybe increased. In a similar method of power management, the personalmonitoring device may enter a sleep or standby mode if the personalmonitoring device 102 has not been moved or if movement of the personalmonitoring device 102 is below a movement threshold for a particularamount of time. For example, if the personal monitoring device 102 hasnot been moved for approximately 5 minutes (or any other suitable timeperiod), the processor 202 may automatically enter into a sleep/standbymode in which sampling for one or more sensors of the personalmonitoring device 102 is significantly reduced (e.g., every 5 minutes orlonger).

It should also be appreciated that different sensors may be manageddifferently depending on their relative power consumptioncharacteristics. So, for example, relatively low power consumptionsensors (such as barometric pressure sensors, CO sensors, temperaturesensors, humidity sensors, and accelerometers) may be configured tooperate at all times in a particular mode. In contrast, relatively highpower consumption components (e.g., PM2.5 sensors, GPS sensors, and VOCsensors) may be configured to selective operate based on the currentpower mode or other factors. For example, such high power consumptionsensors may collect data every ten minutes while stationary but increasesampling to every 30 seconds or more frequently when the personalmonitoring device 102 is in motion.

Regarding communication, different methods of communication supported bythe personal monitoring device 102 may be selectively activated anddeactivated to control power consumption. In one example implementation,one or more communication units may be activated only if contactedby/paired with another device. For example, the personal monitoringdevice 102 may be configured to communicate and transmit data to a smartphone or similar computing device via an app or other software. Whilethe personal monitoring device 102 may “listen” for pairing requestsfrom such computing devices, the personal monitoring device 102 may onlyfully activate the corresponding communication unit/functionality inresponse to receiving such a request. In other implementations, certaincommunication units/functionality may only be activated in response todirect activation/deactivation commands from the user.

C. Example Personal Monitoring Device Form Factors and Features

FIGS. 4-7C illustrate different, non-limiting examples of personalmonitoring devices in accordance with the present disclosure. Althougheach example device may be discussed as having a certain form factorand/or feature set, such device characteristics are provided merely asexamples and, as a result, implementations of personal monitoringdevices in accordance with the present disclosure are not to be limitedto the specific example devices illustrated in FIGS. 4-7C and discussedbelow.

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of a first personal monitoring device 400 inaccordance with the present disclosure. Although other form factors arepossible, the personal monitoring device 400 is generally in the form ofa wearable dongle or similar device that may easily worn by a user orattached to an accessory of the user. For example, as illustrated inFIG. 4, the personal monitoring device 400 has a substantially squareprofile having a diagonal dimension of about 3 inches or less and athickness of approximately 1 inch or less. It should be appreciated thatthe shapes and dimensions discussed herein are provided merely as anexample and other configurations are possible and fully contemplatedwithin the scope of the present disclosure.

The personal monitoring device 400 includes a housing 402 containing thevarious components of the personal monitoring device 400. Among otherthings, the housing 402 couples to and supports a display 404. Asillustrated in FIG. 4, the display 404 may occupy substantially one fullside of the housing 402. As further illustrated, the housing 402 maydefine at least one opening 406 to permit air to enter the personalmonitoring device 400. As noted above, such air may then be sampled andanalyzed by various sensors disposed within the personal monitoringdevice 400. The analysis by the sensors may be used for various purposesincluding, without limitation, providing air quality metrics to a userof the personal monitoring device 400, logging and/or mapping of airquality within a particular location, monitoring environmentalconditions that may be potentially harmful to the user, and the like.The housing 402 may further define various other openings and voids forother purposes. For example and without limitation, such openings mayinclude ports for charging and/or transmitting data to or from thepersonal monitoring device 400, cavities for housing various sensors(e.g., photoelectric sensors or temperature sensors), and vents forfacilitating air flow through the personal monitoring device 400 to aidin heat transfer and cooling of device components.

The personal monitoring device 400 may include a loop or similarattachment feature 408 for coupling the personal monitoring device 400to another item or surface. For example, the attachment feature 408 maybe adapted to receive a string, strap, clip, or similar feature of apiece of clothing or an accessory such that the personal monitoringdevice 400 may be worn or otherwise made easily portable. As illustratedin FIG. 4, the attachment feature 408 may be an integral loop formedinto the housing 402 of the personal monitoring device 400. In otherimplementations, the attachment feature 408 may be selectively removablefrom the housing 402. In still other implementations, the attachmentfeature 408 may be a structural element on a face of the personalmonitoring device 400, such as a groove or protrusion, configured to bereceived by a mating structural element of an item or surface.

The personal monitoring device 400 may generally be designed towithstand various environmental conditions and to meet variousperformance metrics. Without limitation, the personal monitoring device400 may be designed to meet various metrics regarding waterresistance/water proofing, corrosion resistance, ultraviolet lightresistance, heat/cold resistance, drop/impact resistance, ingressprotection, and the like. Various techniques may be used to meet suchrequirements including, without limitation, applying one or morecoatings to portions of the personal monitoring device 400, insulatingand/or sealing portions of the personal monitoring device 400, includingfiltration elements within the personal monitoring device 400, and thelike.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate another example personal monitoring device500 in the form of a key fob or similarly sized device. The personalmonitoring device 500 is intended to illustrate a basic feature set thatmay be used in conjunction with systems according to the presentdisclosure. The personal monitoring device 500, similar to the personalmonitoring device 400 of FIG. 4, may be configured to be readilyattached to a key ring, backpack, or similar article for easy access.

Although the form and features of the personal monitoring device 500 mayvary, the personal monitoring device 500 may be relatively small (e.g.,approximately 2.5 inches by approximately 1 inch by approximately 0.75inches) and may include a durable, waterproof housing 502. Althoughillustrated as having an integral loop as an attachment feature 504, thepersonal monitoring device 500 may include any suitable mechanism forattaching the personal monitoring device 500 to an article of clothingor accessory.

Similar to other personal monitoring devices discussed herein, thepersonal monitoring device 500 is designed to collect and transmitlocation, movement, and/or environmental data to a server (e.g., serversystem 104 of FIG. 1) and to facilitate two-way communication with oneor more users of remote computing devices (e.g., remote computing device106 of FIG. 1), such as a smart phone or similar computing device of aparent or guardian. To facilitate such functionality, the personalmonitoring device 500 may include one or more sensor units for measuringlocation (e.g., a GPS module), movement (e.g., an accelerometer), and/orenvironmental conditions (e.g., an air quality sensor and/or athermometer); one or more communication units (e.g., a 4G module); andsuitable electronics for powering and controlling such units.

Regarding construction, the personal monitoring device 500 may be madefrom metal, plastic, or any other suitable material. The personalmonitoring device 500 is preferably made of a material that issufficiently durable to withstand both the regular forces and impactsassociated with a user wearing the personal monitoring device 500, butalso abnormal impacts that may arise in an accident/collision or similarsituation. The personal monitoring device 500 is also preferably madefrom a material that is substantially resistant to wear, corrosion, orsimilar degradation (e.g., ultraviolet degradation), and is preferablywaterproof to further protect internal components from damage.

To further protect the personal monitoring device 500 from ingress ofmoisture or other chemicals, the personal monitoring device 500 beentirely self-contained and lack any ports or similar access points. Insuch implementations, communication with the personal monitoring device500 may be entirely wireless. Similarly, the personal monitoring device500 may include a wireless (e.g., inductive) charging unit (including,e.g., a wireless charging plate 518, as shown in FIG. 5B) to enablecharging of the personal monitoring device 500 without relying on a portor similar opening that may permit ingress of fluid or other matter.

Although the specific buttons/inputs included in the personal monitoringdevice 500 may vary, the specific implementation illustrated in FIGS. 5Aand 5B includes two call buttons 506, 508, labelled “L1” and “L2”,respectively. The call buttons 506, 508 may each be programmed orotherwise configured to automatically dial a specific phone number, suchas the phone number of a parent or emergency contact, in response tobeing pressed. In other words, the personal monitoring device 500 mayinclude preprogrammed phone numbers associated with each of the callbuttons 506, 508 such that when pressed, the personal monitoring device500 dials the preprogrammed number to initiate a call (e.g., using aninternal communications module implementing 4G, cellular, Wi-Fi or othercommunications). As illustrated, the personal monitoring device 500 mayalso include a speaker and microphone 510 and associated volume buttons512, 514 for facilitating communication when a call is established. Incertain implementations, the speaker and microphone 510 may be coveredwith a hydrophobic mesh (not shown, or otherwise include a similar formof waterproofing), thereby maintaining ingress protection for thepersonal monitoring device 500.

As illustrated in FIG. 5B, the personal monitoring device 500 may alsoinclude an emergency call button 516. Similar to the call buttons 506,508, the emergency call button 516 may cause the personal monitoringdevice 500 to automatically dial and establish a call with apreprogrammed phone number; however, the emergency call button 516 maybe specifically configured to dial a phone number associated withemergency services (e.g., 9-1-1), a third-party dispatch and monitoringservice, or similar services.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate a third example personal monitoring device600, which has a form factor of an electronic reader or similar device.As illustrated in FIG. 6A, the personal monitoring device 600 includes ahousing 602, a display 604, an input pad 606, speakers 608A, 608B, and amicrophone 610. As further illustrated in FIG. 6B, the personalmonitoring device 600 further includes an emergency call button 612, awireless charging pad 614, and vents 616.

Although the specific form and dimensions of the personal monitoringdevice 600 may vary, in at least certain implementations, the housing602 may be relatively thin (e.g., less than about 0.25 inches) such thatit can be readily stored in in a wallet, purse, binder, backpack, orsimilar item.

To improve overall battery life, in at least some implementations, thedisplay 604 may be a low power display, such as an electronic inkdisplay.

The input pad 606 may be a touchpad or similar input device forcontrolling and providing input to the personal monitoring device 600.In certain implementations, the input pad 606 may be replaced orsupplemented by other input devices such as, but not limited to, one ormore buttons, directional pads, scroll wheels, or similar input devices.The personal monitoring device 600 may also include additional buttonsdisposed elsewhere on the housing 602 to provide additionalfunctionality. For example and without limitation, such functionalitymay include dialing predefined phone numbers (similar to the callbuttons 506, 508 of the personal monitoring device 500 of FIGS. 5A and5B), controlling volume of the personal monitoring device 600, orperforming similar functions. As illustrated in FIG. 6B, the personalmonitoring device 600 may also include a dedicated emergency call button612, similar to the emergency call button 516 of the personal monitoringdevice 500 of FIGS. 5A and 5B.

Similar to the personal monitoring device 500 of FIGS. 5A and 5B, thepersonal monitoring device may include one or more speakers 608A, 608Band a microphone 610 for facilitating voice-based communication, such aswith a remote computing device. The speakers 608A, 608B and microphone610 may also be used as alternative or additional output and inputdevices for receiving information from and providing input to thepersonal monitoring device 600. For example and among other things, thespeakers 608A, 608B may be used to provide audio signals or alerts to auser in response to a change in the user's location, a change in theuser's environment, or other similar event. As another example, themicrophone 610

As illustrated in FIG. 6B, the personal monitoring device 600 mayinclude one or more vents 616 to facilitate airflow within the housing602. Such airflow may be used, for example, to provide air to be sampledand analyzed by one or more air quality sensors (not shown) disposedwithin the housing 602. The vents 616 may also be arranged andconfigured to facilitate cooling and ventilation of heat-generatingcomponents within the housing 602.

FIGS. 7A-7C illustrate a fourth example personal monitoring device 700having a form factor akin to a smartphone or similar mobile device. Asillustrated in FIG. 7A, which is a front view of the personal monitoringdevice 700, the personal monitoring device 700 may include a housing 702supporting a display 704, which may be a touchscreen display. Thepersonal monitoring device 700 may further include additional physicalbuttons to enable input to the personal monitoring device 700. Forexample and without limitation, the personal monitoring device 700includes a “home” button 706 that may be used for various purposesincluding returning to a main menu of a user interface executed by thepersonal monitoring device 700. As shown in FIG. 7C, which is a rearview of the personal monitoring device 700, the personal monitoringdevice 700 may also include an emergency call button 708 and a wirelesscharging plate 710, similar to those of the previously discussed exampledevices. Although not illustrated in FIGS. 7A-7C, the personalmonitoring device 700 may further include one or more speakers and amicrophone for facilitate audio input and output. Referring to FIG. 7B,which is a side view of the personal monitoring device 700, the personalmonitoring device 700 may include vents or similar openings 712 tofacilitate air exchange between the surrounding environment and aninternal volume of the personal monitoring device 700. As previouslydiscussed the openings 712 may be used to facilitate sampling by airquality sensors and/or to facilitate cooling of internal components ofthe personal monitoring device 700.

In addition to the foregoing features and functions described in thecontext of FIGS. 4-7C, personal monitoring devices in accordance withthe present disclosure may also include or support other features andfunctions. Such features and functions may include, without limitation,GPS navigation, generation and transmission of preset text-basedmessages (e.g., SMS messages, emails, etc.), alarm clock functionality,storage and editing of contact lists, and blocking of messages and callsreceived from device or numbers not included in a contact list, or anyother features and functions described herein.

D. Variable Sampling Rate and Power Conservation Functions

In certain implementations of the present disclosure, the personalmonitoring device 102 may have a variable rate at which sensor data issampled and provided to the server system 104. Among other things, avariable rate may be useful in conserving power and extending batterylife of the personal monitoring device 102. For example, while thepersonal monitoring device 102 is within a defined environment, thepersonal monitoring device 102 may be configured to sample and transmitsensor data at a first sample rate. However, if the personal monitoringdevice 102 exits the defined environment, the sampling rate may beautomatically changed to a second sampling rate such that the personalmonitoring device 102 reports sensor data more frequently.

In general, control of the sampling rate of the personal monitoringdevice 102 is based, at least in part, on communications received fromthe server system 104 in response to sensor data provided by thepersonal monitoring device 102. In one specific example, the personalmonitoring device 102 may transmit location data to the server system104 at a first sampling rate. The server system 104 then analyzes thelocation data to determine if one or more location-based conditions aremet. Such conditions may include, among other things and withoutlimitation, the location data indicating that the personal monitoringdevice 102 is within/outside of a defined area, within/outside of adefined proximity to a geographic area or feature, within/outside of adefined proximity relative to another computing device or person, andthe like. In response to determining the location-based condition ismet, the server system 104 may then transmit a reconfiguration messageto the personal monitoring device 102 that causes the personalmonitoring device 102 to begin sampling at a second sampling ratedifferent than the first sampling rate. So, for example, while a childuser of the personal monitoring device 102 is on school property, thepersonal monitoring device 102 may have a first, relatively low samplingrate (e.g., once every ten minutes). However, if the personal monitoringdevice 102 is subsequently moved off of school property, the personalmonitoring device 102 may have a second, higher sampling rate to permitcloser monitoring of the child's movement.

The foregoing process is illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, which providemethods 800, 900 for implementing variable sampling rates from theperspective of the personal monitoring device 102 and the server system104, respectively.

Referring first to FIG. 8, the personal monitoring device 102 beginsoperation at a first sampling rate. To do so, the personal monitoringdevice 102 samples sensor data from one or more sensor of the personalmonitoring device 102 (operation 802) and transmits the sampled sensordata to the server system 104 (operation 804). The personal monitoringdevice 102 may then periodically check if a reconfiguration message hasbeen received from the server system 104 (operation 806). If areconfiguration message has not been received, the personal monitoringdevice 102 continues to provide sensor data at the current sampling rate(operations 802, 804). If, on the other hand, a reconfiguration messagehas been received, the personal monitoring device 102 updates itssampling rate according to the reconfiguration message (operation 808)before continuing to sample and provide sensor data to the server system104 at the updated sampling rate. Notably, while illustrated in FIG. 8as occurring after transmission of sensor data to the server system 104,the operation of checking for reconfiguration messages (operation 806)and updating the sampling settings of the personal monitoring device 102(operation 808) may also occur in parallel with or as a separate routinefrom general sampling and transmission by the personal monitoring device102.

Referring now to the method 900 of FIG. 9, the server system 104receives sensor data from the personal monitoring device 102 (operation902). The server system 104 then determines whether the received sensordata meets a condition for reconfiguring the personal monitoring device102 by changing a sample rate of the personal monitoring device 102(operation 904). If not, the server system 104 continues to receive andprocess sensor data form the personal monitoring device 102 at thecurrent sampling rate. If the sample rate change condition is met,however, the server system 104 transmits a reconfiguration message tothe personal monitoring device 102 including an indication of a newsampling rate (operation 906). When received by the personal monitoringdevice 102, the reconfiguration message causes the personal monitoringdevice 102 to updates its current configuration to begin sampling sensordata at the rate specified in the reconfiguration message.

In certain implementations, the sensor data provided by the personalmonitoring device 102 (e.g., in operations 802 and 804 of FIG. 8) andreceived and analyzed by the server system 104 (e.g., in operations 902and 904) can be any sensor data that may be collected by sensors of thepersonal monitoring device 102 and may include sensor data from one ormore sensors of the personal monitoring device 102. The sensors fromwhich the sensor data is obtained may include, without limitation,location-based sensors or location-based sensor systems (e.g., a GPSsystems), motion-based sensors (e.g., an accelerometer), environmentalsensors (e.g., a thermometer or an air quality sensors), or any othersensor that may be included in the personal monitoring device 102. Inimplementations in which sensor data is collected from multiple sensors,the personal monitoring device 102 may sample each sensor or groups ofsensors at different sampling rates. In such implementations, eachsampling rate may be independently modified or configurable by messagesreceived from the server system 104.

In certain implementations, the sensor data provided to the serversystem 104 may correspond to the sensor for which the server system 104reconfigures the sampling rate. For example, the server system 104 mayreceive location data from the personal monitoring device 102 at a firstsampling rate and the server system 104 may transmit a reconfigurationmessage to the personal monitoring device 102 to provide location dataat a second sampling rate. However, in other implementations, the typeof sensor data received and processed by the server system 104 may bedifferent than the type of sensor data for which the sampling rate ismodified by the server system 104. For example, the sensor datacollected and processed by the server system 104 may includeenvironmental (e.g., air quality) or movement (e.g., acceleration) data.Although the server system 104 may decide to update sampling rates basedon the environmental or movement data, the updated sampling rate may bethat of a location sensor. In one example of such an implementation, theserver system 104 may determine when a user of the personal monitoringdevice 102 enters an area with poor air quality based on sensor dataprovided by an air quality sensor of the personal monitoring device 102,but may then transmit a message to the personal monitoring device 102that increases a sampling rate of a location sensor of the personalmonitoring device 102.

It should also be noted that while the personal monitoring device 102may be configured to provide sensor data on a periodic basis to theserver system 104, the personal monitoring device 102 may further beconfigured to receive and process requests for sensor data from theserver system 104. As discussed below in the context of FIG. 12, in atleast certain implementations, such requests may be in response torequests from a remote computing device (such as the remote computingdevice 106) received by the server system 104.

As noted above in operation 806 of method 800 and operation 906 ofmethod 900, implementations of the present disclosure include theexchange of reconfiguration messages between the server system 104 andthe personal monitoring device 102. In general and among other things,reconfiguration messages sent by the server system 104 cause thepersonal monitoring device 102 to modify a sampling rate of themonitoring device 102. Reconfiguration messages may be transmitted usingany suitable communication protocol and may have any suitable messageformat. In certain implementations, the reconfiguration messages mayinclude a sampling rate indicator corresponding to the new samplingrate. The sampling rate indicator may be a numerical value directlycorresponding to the new sampling rate, e.g., a number expressed in anumber of samples per minute or time between samples. As anotherexample, the value contained in the reconfiguration may be correlated toa sampling rate. So, for example and without limitation, a “1” mayindicate a sampling rate of 10 seconds between samples, a “2” mayindicate a sampling rate of a minute between samples, and a “3” mayindicate a sampling rate of five minutes between samples.

In implementations in which the personal monitoring device 102 includesmultiple sensors, the reconfiguration message may also include anindicator identifying the particular sensor or groups of sensors to bereconfigured in response to the reconfiguration message. For example,each sensor of the personal monitoring device 102 may be assigned anindex (e.g., “1” for the location sensor, “2” for the accelerometer,etc.). The reconfiguration message may then include a first characterindicating the sensor to be reconfigured and a second characterindicating how the sensor is to be reconfigured. So, for example andusing the foregoing example indices, a message with content “23” wouldreconfigure the accelerometer of the personal monitoring device 102 toprovide data at a rate of once per every five minutes.

The foregoing examples of reconfigurations messages are merely intendedto provide one example of reconfiguration messages according toimplementations of the present disclosure. Nevertheless, the foregoingexample is an efficient approach to facilitating communication betweenthe personal monitoring device 102 and the server system 104. Moregenerally, however, communication between the personal monitoring device102 and the server system 104 use any suitable message format, protocol,communication medium, etc.

As noted above, in at least certain implementations, power management ofthe personal monitoring device 102 may include modifying the frequencywith which data is transmitted from the personal monitoring device 102to the server system 104 and/or whether the personal monitoring device102 periodically transmits data to the server system 104 or onlytransmits data in response to a request from the server system 104.

An example of the latter approach is provided in FIGS. 10 and 11. Morespecifically, FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a method 1000 foroperating the personal monitoring device 102 in a low power mode fromthe perspective of the personal monitoring device 102. Similarly, FIG.11 is a flow chart illustrating a method 1100 for operating the personalmonitoring device 102 in a low power mode from the perspective of theserver system 104.

Referring first to FIG. 10, the personal monitoring device 102 begins ina normal operating mode. More specifically, the personal monitoringdevice 102 samples sensor data at a current sampling rate (operation1002) and then transmits the collected sensor data to the server system104 for processing, storage, analysis, etc. (operation 1004).

As the personal monitoring device 102 collects and transmits the sensordata, it may generally monitor the remaining charge left in a battery306 (shown in FIG. 3) or similar energy storage device of the personalmonitoring device 102 to determine when the power level drops below aparticular threshold (operation 1006). Although the specific thresholdmay vary, in at least certain implementations, the personal monitoringdevice 102 may be considered to have low power when the battery chargeis below 50%, below 40%, below 30%, below 25%, below 10%, or below anyother suitable threshold.

While the power level of the power source for the personal monitoringdevice 102 remains above the low power level, the personal monitoringdevice 102 may continue to collect and transmit sensor data at thecurrent sampling rate (e.g., by repeating operations 1002 and 1004).When a low power condition is met, however, the personal monitoringdevice 102 may transition into a low power mode in which the personalmonitoring device 102 stops continuous transmission of sensor data tothe server system 104 and instead only provides sensor data uponrequest.

To do so, the personal monitoring device 102 may transmit a “low power”notification to the server system 104 (operation 1008). The low powernotification generally indicates to the server system 104 that thepersonal monitoring device 102 will no longer be transmitting sensordata to the server system 104 and that the server system 104 must nowsubmit requests to the personal monitoring device 102 to receive sensordata from the personal monitoring device 102.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the personal monitoring device 102 may pollfor or otherwise wait for data requests from the server system 104(operation 1010) and periodically check whether the low power conditionhas been alleviated (operation 1014), such as by charging of thepersonal monitoring device 102. If a data request is received, thepersonal monitoring device 102 samples the corresponding sensor data andtransmits the sensor data to the server system 104 (operation 1012).After responding to a request from the server system 104, the personalmonitoring device 102 may revert to checking the device power condition(operation 1014) and waiting/checking for requests from the serversystem (operation 1010). When the low power condition is alleviated, thepersonal monitoring device 102 may transmit a corresponding notificationto the server system (operation 1016) before returning to normaloperation in which the personal monitoring device 102 periodicallysamples and transmits sensor data to the server system 104 at thecurrent sampling rate.

FIG. 11 illustrates a similar method 1100 for low-power operation of apersonal monitoring device, such as the personal monitoring device 102,from the perspective of a server system, such as the server system 104of FIG. 1.

The method 1100 first includes the server system 104 receiving anotification from the personal monitoring device 102 that the personalmonitoring device 102 has entered into a low power mode (operation1102).

Subsequently, the server system 104 may determine whether the serversystem 104 has received a request for sensor data from the personalmonitoring device 102 has been received (operation 1104). Such a requestfor sensor device may be received, for example, from a remote computingdevice, such as the remote computing device 106 of FIG. 1, or may beinternally generated/initiated by the server system 104. While waitingfor a request, the server system may also determine whether the serversystem 104 has received a notification from the personal monitoringdevice 102 indicating that normal operation of the personal monitoringdevice 102 has been restored (e.g., due to the personal monitoringdevice 102 being charged).

In response to receiving a request for sensor data, the server system104 may generated and transmit a request for the sensor data to thepersonal monitoring device 102 (operation 1106). The server system 104may then receive the requested sensor data from the personal monitoringdevice (operation 1108) and may then store and/or transmit the receivedsensor data. For example, the server system 104 may store the receivedsensor data in a data source of the server system 104 or otherwiseaccessible to the server system 104. In addition to or instead ofstoring the received sensor data, the server system 104 may alsotransmit the received sensor data to a remote computing device, such asthe remote computing device 106, which may or may not be the same devicefrom which a request is received in operation 1102.

The foregoing process may be repeated until a notification is receivedindicating that personal monitoring device 102 has exited the low powerstate and returned to normal operation (operation 1112). Morespecifically, in response to receiving such a notification, the serversystem 104 may similarly return to normal operation (operation 1114),which, in certain implementations may include the server system 104receiving and processing sensor data periodically provided by thepersonal monitoring device, such as described above in the method 900 ofFIG. 9.

E. On-Demand Sensor Data Retrieval

As noted above, the server system 104 may be configured to receive andprocess data requests from other computing devices, such as the remotecomputing device 106. FIG. 12 illustrates an example method 1200directed to the processing of such requests. The method 1200 begins bythe server system 104 receiving a request for data from the remotecomputing device 106 (operation 1202). In response, the server system104 generates and transmits a request for the corresponding sensor datato the personal monitoring device (operation 1204) and subsequentlyreceives the requested data from the personal monitoring device(operation 1206). The server system 104 may then transmit the requesteddata to the remote computing device for presentation to a user of theremote computing device (operation 1208).

In one specific implementation, a parent or similar user of the remotecomputing device 106 may transmit a request to the server system 104 forthe current location and environmental readings from a personalmonitoring device 102 associated with a child. Such a request may besubmitted, for example, through an app, portal, website, or othersoftware executed on the remote computing device 106. In response to therequest, the server system 104 generates and transmits a second requestmessage to the personal monitoring device 102, which then provides therequested location and environmental data to the server system 104. Theserver system 104 then transmits the sensor data to the remote computingdevice 106 for presentation to the user of the remote computing device106.

The method of FIG. 12 illustrates on-demand retrieval of live sensordata from the personal monitoring device, however, in at least certainimplementations, the server system 104 may also be configured to providehistorical sensor data to the remote computing device 106. In certainimplementations, such sensor data may include the actual data valuescollected by the server system 104 from the personal monitoring device102; however, in other implementations, the sensor data provided forpresentation via the remote computing device 106 may include a summaryof historical data.

Data may be presented via the remote computing device 106 in anysuitable manner. However, in at least one example implementation, sensordata provided by the personal monitoring device 102 may be displayed orotherwise overlaid on a map or similar graphic indicating the locationof the personal monitoring device 102. Such a map or graphic may bedisplayed, for example, by a user interface of an app, website, orprogram executed by the remote computing device 106. To the extent theremote computing device 106 is paired or associated with multiplepersonal monitoring devices, similar indicators or graphics may also beincluded for each personal monitoring device. In other implementations,the sensor data may be presented in tabular, graphical, or similarformat that may include historical trends of the sensor data.

F. Additional Features and Functionality i. Environmental Mapping

In addition to the foregoing functionality, personal monitoring devicesaccording to the present disclosure may be used to provide what isreferred to herein as environmental mapping. In general, environmentalmapping refers to the process of correlating location and sensor data toprovide high-resolution maps including or overlain with air quality orother similar environmental information. For purposes of the followingdiscussion, air quality is used as an example of environmentalconditions that may be mapped, however, it should be appreciated thatair quality is provided merely as an example and other environmentalconditions may be mapped in a similar fashion.

To provide environmental mapping, a server or similar central computingsystem (e.g., server system 104 of FIG. 1) collects data from multiplepersonal monitoring devices (e.g., personal monitoring device 102 ofFIG. 1) and, in particular, sensor readings from environmental sensorsof such devices that further include location data. In addition to thedata collected from the personal monitoring devices, additional datafrom mapping, weather, or other similar services (e.g., from externalcomputing system 116 of FIG. 1) may also be integrated into the systemto supplement the data collected from the personal monitoring devices.

Based on the data collected by the server system, a data set may begenerated that correlates various air quality metrics with geographiclocations. Such a data set may then be used to generate maps or othergraphical representations of the air quality metrics. For example, thedata set may be used to generate one or more map overlays that provide aheat-map or similar visualization of the collected air quality data.

In one example application, the data set may be used to provide agraphical user interface in which a dynamically navigable map can beoverlain with one or more of PM2.5, pollen, VOC, CO, temperature,humidity, or other such information. A user of the interface mayselectively toggle one or more of the overlays to visually display thecorresponding metric. The user may also be able to select a specificlocation or area and receive detailed information regardingenvironmental conditions in the identified location.

In certain cases, the data set may be accessible, such as through a webservice or one or more application programmer interfaces (APIs), forintegration into other mapping and environmental applications. Oneexample of such an application is a real estate application or website.Such a website may access and retrieve the environmental mapping dataset to provide environmental information for homes and neighborhoods tosupplement pricing, school, taxation, valuation, and similar informationthat is conventionally.

ii. Advanced User Alerts and User Profiles

As previously discussed, implementations of the present disclosure mayinclude systems configured to generate and transmit alerts in responseto certain events measured by sensors of personal monitoring devices.For example, in response to measuring an environmental condition (e.g.,pollutant levels), movement (e.g., acceleration associated with a fall),or location that indicates an emergency or potential emergencysituation, a server system in communication with the personal monitoringdevice and/or the personal monitoring device itself may transmit alertsor initiate calls with other remote systems and devices. More generally,such alerting mechanisms include detecting an event or environmentalcondition and, in response to identifying the event of condition,performing a corresponding action.

In some implementations of the present disclosure, a multi-level alertand notification mechanism may be implemented. Such a system mayinclude, for example, varying responses based on a severity of an eventor condition detected by the personal device or server system. Incertain implementations, the personal monitoring device or server systemmay also be configured to provide a range of responses that escalateunless the user of the personal monitoring device demonstratesresponsiveness by providing an acknowledgement (e.g., by swiping ortouching the screen of the device, by issuing a voice command, bypressing a button, or by any other suitable input to the device) withina corresponding time period.

The thresholds used to identify potentially harmful conditions or eventsand the corresponding responses may be modified based on characteristicsof the user of the personal monitoring device. Such characteristics maybe provided to or otherwise made available to the personal monitoringdevice, such as by a cloud-based storage system. For example, thepersonal monitoring device of a user with a respiratory disease may beconfigured to have lower thresholds associated with air quality and/ormore elevated responses when air quality/pollutant thresholds areexceeded as compared to a personal monitoring device for a user withouta respiratory condition or with a less severe respiratory condition. Asanother example, the device of an elderly user may be configured to havea similar lower threshold or elevated response for fall-related events,e.g., as measured based on acceleration of the personal monitoringdevice.

It should be appreciated that the environmental conditions and eventsmay correspond to any parameter measurable by the personal monitoringdevice. Moreover, the thresholds for detecting conditions and events maybe based on any of absolute measurements, relative measurements, averagemeasurements (e.g., average measurements over time), absolute changes inmeasurements, relative changes in measurement, or any other measurablechange in a parameter measureable by the personal monitoring device.

Although other implementations are possible, the following descriptionprovides an illustrative example of a multi-level responseimplementation in which actions in response to a particular condition orevent are gradually increased until and unless such actions areacknowledged by a user of the personal monitoring device. A similararrangement of escalating actions may be used, for example, inconjunction with different thresholds for a particular parametermeasureable by the personal monitoring device. The following exampleactions may be implemented in combination or individually in anypersonal monitoring device or system according to the present disclosureand for any parameter measurable by the personal monitoring device.Moreover, the actions discussed below are merely exemplary and otheractions are possible.

With the foregoing in mind, the example implementation of an action andresponse system is generally described below as being divided intoaction levels, with the personal monitoring device and associated systeminitiating elevating actions as the action level increases. Aspreviously noted, in one implementation the transition between actionlevels generally occurs after a certain time has elapsed at a particularaction level without the personal monitoring device receiving anacknowledgement from the user. The time between each action level mayvary and may, in certain instances, be based on or otherwise customizedbased on the user of the personal monitoring device.

At a first action level of the example case, an initial warning may beprovided to a user via one of the output mechanisms of the personalmonitoring device. For example, such a warning may be provided in theform of an audible tone or a vibration produced by suitable outputmechanisms of the personal monitoring device. Assuming the user has notacknowledged the initial warning, the personal monitoring device maytransition to a subsequent, higher action level in which the output fromthe personal monitoring device is intensified (e.g., the volume and/orduration of the audible tone or the intensity of the vibration isincreased, an audio message may be played to try and get the user'sattention, etc.). If the user still fails to respond, the action levelmay again be elevated, such as by playing audio messages at a volume orintensity directed to alerting passersby.

If acknowledgement is still not received by the personal monitoringdevice, the personal monitoring device may initiate a remotecommunication. For example, the personal monitoring device may generateand send an email, a text message, or similar notification to variousrecipients. Such recipients may include one or more predefined contacts(e.g., parents, guardians, caretakers, or other individuals) or amonitoring service associated with the personal monitoring device. Incertain implementations, the personal monitoring device may subsequentlycontact emergency services, such as by calling 911, in the event theaction level is again elevated.

In addition to the previously discussed functions and applications,personal monitoring devices and systems described herein may beconfigured to provide various other functions. As evidenced by thefollowing examples, such functions may include but are not limited toadditional health and safety-related applications. More generally, thepersonal monitoring devices and associated systems herein may be used inapplications requiring a compact, energy efficient, and highly flexiblesensor and communication platform. Accordingly, the following examplesshould be regarded as non-limiting applications of the personalmonitoring device and associated system.

With reference to the network environment 100 of FIG. 1, in certainimplementations of the present disclosure, the server system 104 may beconfigured to generate and transmit alerts on behalf of the personalmonitoring device 102 and, in particular, in response to a user of apersonal monitoring device 102 in response to sensor data received fromthe personal monitoring device 102. In certain implementations, thesensor data may include location data indicating that a user of thepersonal monitoring device 102 has entered an area, exited an area, iswithin a certain distance of a location, is outside of a certaindistance from a location, and the like. In other implementations, thesensor data may include environmental data indicating that user iswithin an environment in which one or more conditions (e.g.,temperature, air quality, etc.) is over a threshold, below a threshold,or otherwise outside of a particular range. In still otherimplementations, the sensor data may indicate that movement of the userof the personal monitoring device 102 exceeds a predetermined limit(e.g., high acceleration or deceleration in response to a fall orcollision).

More generally, the server system 104 may generate and transmit an alertto the personal monitoring device 102, one or more remote computingdevices (such as the remote computing device 106), or take other alertactions in response to a predetermined condition being met. In certainimplementations, at least some of the conditions for which alerts aregenerated may be universally applied to all personal monitoring devices.However, at least some conditions may also be dynamically generatedand/or specifically tailored to each user of a personal monitoringdevice. Accordingly, the server system may store information thatincludes particular alert conditions for each personal monitoring deviceuser and respective actions to be taken in the event an alert conditionis met. Among other things, such actions may include generating andtransmitting alerts to the personal monitoring device, generating andtransmitting messages to reconfigure the personal monitoring device,generating and transmitting alerts to the personal monitoring device,contacting emergency services, and the like. For purposes of the presentdisclosure, the information defining the conditions under which actionsare to be taken by the server system for a personal monitoring deviceand the particular actions to be taken by the server system when suchconditions are met are generally referred to as a user profile. Eachcondition and action combination included in a given user profile isreferred to herein as a user profile entry. It should be noted, however,that the user profile may be generated, formatted, and structured in anysuitable way, provided the information contained within the user profilemay be used to determine when sensor data received from the personalmonitoring device indicates an alert is to be generated and transmitted.Once generated, each user profile may be stored in the server system 104or in a data store 118 accessible by the server system 104.

A given user profile may include multiple entries corresponding to aparticular metric. For example, a user profile may have entries coveringincreasing levels of a pollutant, with each entry including acorresponding level of action to be taken. As another example, differentactions may be initiated in response to the personal monitoring devicemeasuring different levels of acceleration. So, a simple text messagemay be generated in response to a first level of acceleration measuredby the personal monitoring device indicating a light contact orcollision, but an emergency service may immediately contacted inresponse to a second level of acceleration indicative of a severe fallor similar traumatic event.

User profiles in accordance with the present disclosure may be generatedin various ways. For example, in certain implementations, a user of theremote computing device 106 may log onto a web-based portal, app, orsimilar interface hosted by the server system 104 and add entries to auser profile for a particular personal monitoring device, each entryspecifying one or more conditions and one or more actions to be takenwhen the one or more conditions are met. For example and withoutlimitation, in the case of environmental data, the user of the remotecomputing device 106 may specify particular values or ranges for airquality metrics, temperature, and the like and identify recipients ofalerts or calls when the values or ranges are met. In the case oflocation data, the user of the remote computing device 106 may definegeographic areas or geographic boundaries and actions to be taken when auser of the personal monitoring device 102 exits/enters the identifiedareas or crosses the geographic boundaries. In other implementations,the user of the remote computing device 106 may identify a location orlandmark and specify a radius from the location or landmark. An alertmay then be generated when the user of the personal monitoring device102 crosses the radius. In still other implementations, the user of theremote computing device 106 may select particular classes of geographicfeatures (e.g., bodies of water, highways, industrial facilities, typesof stores, etc.) and a radius or distance within which an alert will begenerated.

In certain implementations, a user profile may be based, in part, ondata, such as health and safety standards, medical recommendations, orgeographic data, provided by a third-party. For example, the userprofile may include conditions and actions related to environmentalexposure levels as determined by an environmental agency, health andsafety organization, or other similar entity that provides dataregarding exposure limits and safety. Similarly, map data may be used toidentify potentially hazardous geographic features, landmarks, orlocations from which user profile entries may be generated. Third partydata used to generate user profile entries may also include userprofiles or data collected from other personal monitoring devices. Forexample, the user profile for a user of a first personal monitoringdevice may be used to generate a user profile for a user of a secondpersonal monitoring device having similar characteristics (e.g., age,medical conditions, etc.).

iii. Clinical Trial Data Collection

Personal monitoring devices described herein may be used to provideimproved data collection and environmental exposure information duringclinical trials. For example, participants in a trial for a drug ormedical device may each be provided with a personal monitoring devicesuch that environmental exposure, activity, and location information maybe collected for each participant. Such information may be collectedfrom each personal monitoring device by a server system and subsequentlyincluded in the clinical data for the trial. Doing so may moreeffectively determine the efficacy of the drug, device, or treatmentbeing tested and may provide additional insights regarding potentialeffects related to environmental exposure, personal activity, and thelike. Although applications including environmental monitoring may beparticularly useful for trials related to respiratory-relatedconditions, the personal monitoring devices may be used more broadly inany application in which the location, environmental exposure, movementpatterns, or other similar data for a participant may be a factor in theefficacy of a particular treatment.

iv. Family Supervision

As previously discussed, certain applications of the present disclosuremay be related to monitoring and supervision of family members orsimilar individuals. For example, a parent may provide a personalmonitoring device to a child and configure the personal monitoringdevice (e.g., using the remote computing device 106 of FIG. 1) toprovide warnings or alerts to the parent based on the conditionsmeasured by the personal monitoring device. For example, the parent mayconfigure the personal monitoring device to provide warnings or alertsbased on, among other things, the location of the child, environmentalconditions around the child, and the like. In certain implementations,parents may also be able to send text, voice, video, or other messagesto the personal monitoring device for display on the device's screen orplayback using an audio output of the personal monitoring device.

v. Traffic Flow Monitoring

As noted, personal monitoring devices in accordance with the presentdisclosure generally include location-based sensors, such as GPS units,as movement sensors, such as accelerometers. To the extent a user of thepersonal monitoring device has the device while travelling in a vehicle,the GPS and accelerometer information collected by the personalmonitoring device may be provided to a server (e.g., server system 104of FIG. 1) or a similar computing system for purposes of analyzingtraffic flow patterns and/or similar travel information. For example andwithout limitation, such information may be used to determineapproximate travel times between locations.

vi. Device Location and Tethering

In certain applications, a user of the personal monitoring device mayassign/associate the personal monitoring device to one or more remotecomputing devices, such as smart phones or tablets. Once associated, thedistance between the two devices may be monitored. In certainimplementations, such monitoring may include determining the location ofeach device and calculating a distance between the two. Alternatively orin addition to calculating a distance between the devices, theassociation between the devices may include establishing a communicationlink (such as a Bluetooth link) between the devices.

Once the personal monitoring device is associated with a remotecomputing device, the personal monitoring device may be virtually“tethered” to the remote computing device. Once tethered, alerts orwarning may be issued to either device in response to a distance betweenthe devices being exceeded. In implementations in which the distancebetween the devices is calculated, for example, an alert or warning maybe issued to either device when the distance exceeds a preconfigureddistance (e.g., 100 yards, 500 yards, etc.). Similarly, when the devicesare tethered by a communication link, an alert or warning may be issuedwhen the communication link is broken, e.g., by exceeding the range ofthe communication link.

The foregoing techniques have various applications. For example, a usermay tether their personal monitoring device to their mobile phone tofacilitate tracking of their devices. More specifically, by tetheringtheir mobile device with their personal monitoring device, the user maybe alerted if they leave a location with only their personal monitoringdevice or only their mobile device and leave the other device behind.

In another example, a parent may tether their mobile phone to personalmonitoring devices for each of their children. Each of the parent andthe child may then receive warnings or alerts when the tether is brokenor exceeds a particular distance. In certain implementations, the parentmay be able to configure different tethers for each child. For example,older children may be given a longer tether while younger children maybe given a shorter tether. Similarly, different warning and alertseverities may be assigned to different distances. So, for example, agentle buzzing or audible alert may be issued when a child exceeds afirst distance from the parent, but a call between the remote computingdevice of the parent and the personal monitoring device of the child maybe initiated if the child exceeds a second distance from the parent.

vii. Exercise and Fitness Tracking

Accelerometer, GPS, and other similar data generated by the personalmonitoring device may also be used to provide exercise and fitnesstracking functionality for the user of the personal monitoring device.Among other things, the personal monitoring device may measure andprovide fitness-related metrics such as a step count or a distancetravelled over a given time period. In certain implementations, thepersonal monitoring device may also be configured to pair with andreceive data from one or more biometric or fitness-related sensors, suchas a heart rate monitor, smart watch, or additional fitness trackingdevice and to provide such data to the server system for additionalprocessing.

viii. Panic Button/Preset Number

As noted above in the example devices of FIGS. 4-7C, the personalmonitoring device may include panic button or similar functionality thatautomatically contacts a specified recipient. For example, the personalmonitoring device may include a button (either physical or virtual)that, when pressed, automatically transmits a message or attempts toconnect with the recipient. In certain implementations, the personalmonitoring device may use a cellular chip to contact 911 or similaremergency services. Once connected, the personal monitoring device mayallow for two-way voice communication. Although emergency services areenvisioned as one possible recipient contacted in response to activationof the panic button, it should be appreciated that any suitablerecipient (such as a caretaker, parent, medical professional, or otherindividual) may be contacted in response to activation of the panicbutton.

ix. Fall/Crash Alert and Related Functionality

The personal monitoring device may be configured to automaticallyperform certain functions, such as contacting particular individuals oremergency services, in response to an accelerometer of the devicemeasuring acceleration that exceeds certain thresholds and indicates afall, crash, or other potentially traumatic event. More specifically,the personal monitoring device may be programmed with movementthresholds corresponding to a user falling, being in an automobileaccident, or other similar events. When such events are detected, thepersonal monitoring device may call or send a message to a predeterminedcontact, which may include 911 or other emergency services.

The foregoing functionality may also be performed, at least in part, bythe server system to which the personal monitoring device providessensor data. For example, in certain implementations, the personalmonitoring device may be configured to automatically transmit a messageto the server system when an acceleration threshold is exceeded. Inresponse, the server system may take various actions including such asissuing a corresponding alert or warning to remote computing devicesassociated with the personal monitoring device. Such alerts or warningsmay include the location of the event and other similar information.Alternatively, the server system may facilitate opening a line ofcommunication between the personal monitoring device and the remotecomputing device, such as by initiating a phone call or text messageexchange between the devices.

In still other implementations, the server system may automaticallytransmit various messages to the personal monitoring device in responseto being notified of a potential fall or crash. In a first example, theserver system may automatically generate and transmit a messagerequesting current location data (or any other sensor data) from thepersonal monitoring device. In another example, the server system mayautomatically generate and transmit a reconfiguration message thatcauses the personal monitoring device to increase the frequency at whichthe personal monitoring device provides sensor data such as, but notlimited to, location data.

x. Integration with Smart Devices

The personal monitoring device may be configured to pair with,communicate with, and/or control various smart devices. Such smartdevices may include, without limitation, smart lighting systems,appliances, security systems, digital assistants, and the like. In onespecific implementation, the personal monitoring device may be used asan input device for such other smart devices. In such implementations,the personal monitoring device may receive inputs from the user(including, without limitation, button presses, touchscreen inputs, andvoice commands) and transmit such inputs to the other smart devices. Thepersonal monitoring device may also be configured to receive messagesfrom such devices, which may then be displayed on the display of thepersonal monitoring device.

xi. Payment Features

The personal monitoring device may include functionality forfacilitating payments. For example, credit card or other paymentinformation may be stored in the personal monitoring device. Thepersonal monitoring device may then be able to wirelessly connect to andcommunicate with point-of-sale or payment terminals to facilitatepayment for goods and services.

xii. Weather/Environmental Station

While described herein as primarily a mobile and wearable personalmonitoring device, it should be appreciated that the personal monitoringdevice may also be configured to be operated as a weather orenvironmental station that collects and provides environmental andweather data. Such data may be collected, for example, usingtemperature, air quality, or other environment-related sensors of thepersonal monitoring device and provided to the server system for furtherprocessing or provision to one or more weather-related external computersystems.

xiii. Identifying Mode of Transportation

Personal monitoring devices according to the present disclosure mayprovide each of location data (e.g., GPS data) and movement data (e.g.,accelerometer data) to a server system. In addition to identify thelocation of personal monitoring devices and the occurrence of certainevents (e.g., falls, entering and exiting geographic areas, changes inenviron mental conditions, etc.), the server system may use informationreceived from the personal monitoring device to identify a mode oftransportation associated with the personal monitoring device.Identifying a mode of transportation may be useful, for example, indetermining whether a user of the personal is involved in an accidentwhile in a car, riding a bike, or on foot such that appropriateemergency services may be contacted and an alert with a suitableseverity may be transmitted to caregivers or other individualsassociated with the user.

To identify a mode of transportation, data corresponding to the user'slocation and acceleration may be received by the server from thepersonal monitoring device of the user. Based on the location data, theserver may determine the user's speed, which may be used to narrowpossible modes of transportation. For example, if the location dataindicates that the user is travelling at speeds in excess of 20miles/hour, the server may assume that the user is cycling, in a car, orusing some form of vehicle. Location data may also be used to narrowpossible modes of transportation based on the user's location. Forexample, if a user's location indicates that they are on a freeway, itis likely that the user is in a vehicle. Similarly, if a user is locatedin a park or similar area with only limited roads, the server may assumethe user is more likely on foot or using a lower speed vehicle, such asa bicycle.

In addition to location data, the server may analyze acceleration datato further determine the user's mode of transportation. For example, inan urban setting, a user's speed and location may be similar whetherthey are in an automobile or riding a bicycle and, as a result, speedand location may be insufficient to clearly determine the user's mode oftransportation. In such situations, the server may further consideracceleration data (e.g., as collected using an accelerometerincorporated into devices of the present disclosure) to facilitatefurther distinction. For example and without limitation, at leastcertain distinctions may be made by the server based on the user'saverage acceleration over a certain time period, with larger vehiclesgenerally exhibiting slower acceleration than smaller vehicles.Alternatively, the server may examine an acceleration profile of theuser to determine the mode of transportation. Such examination mayinclude comparing the user's acceleration to templates, curves, orsimilar data associated with different modes of transportation andstored at the server.

In certain implementations, mode of transportation information may beused to subsequently identify potentially hazardous conditions and togenerate corresponding alerts. For example, data received from apersonal monitoring device may indicate that a user of the device wastravelling in a car that was subsequently parked. Subsequently,temperature data from the personal monitoring device may be collectedand monitored to determine if conditions within the car (e.g., heat)exceed safe levels and, if so, a corresponding alert may be issued to acaregiver, emergency services, etc.

xiv. Deviation from Routine Activity

Implementations of the present disclosure may also include functionalityfor monitoring deviations from routine activity. For example, sensordata collected from a personal monitoring device of a user may beprocessed by the server system to generate a behavioral profile for theuser. The behavioral profile may include, among other things, travelpatterns and times for the user (e.g., commutes, routes to/from school).The behavioral profile may also include location and time informationcorresponding to common locations for the user at different times of theday. So, for example, the behavioral profile may specify that a user ofa personal monitoring device is generally within a certain radius of aschool or similar building from around 8:00 am to around 3:00 pm ontypical weekdays.

To the extent sensor data received from the personal monitoring deviceindicates a deviation from a behavioral profile of a user, an alert maybe generated and transmitted to a caretaker or other individual. Forexample, if a child deviates from their typical route to or from schoolor leaves school during normal hours, an alert may be generated andtransmitted to a parent. Alerts may also be generated if aspects of theuser's behavior other than route or location change. For example, analert may be generated if the sensor data indicates that a child hasentered a vehicle when the child normally walks or rides a bike,regardless of the route taken.

G. Example Computing System

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computing deviceor computer system 1300 which may be used in implementing theembodiments of the systems and methods disclosed above. In particular,the computing device of FIG. 13 is one embodiment of the server system104 or the remote computing device 106 illustrated in FIG. 1 or acomputing device that otherwise performs one of more of the operationsdescribed above. The computer system (system) includes one or morehardware processors 1302-1306. Processors 1302-1306 may include one ormore internal levels of cache (not shown) and a bus controller 1322 orbus interface unit to direct interaction with the processor bus 1312.Processor bus 1312, also known as the host bus or the front side bus,may be used to couple the processors 1302-1306 with the system interface1314. System interface 1314 may be connected to the processor bus 1312to interface other components of the system 1300 with the processor bus1312. For example, system interface 1314 may include a memory controller1318 for interfacing a main memory 1316 with the processor bus 1312. Themain memory 1316 typically includes one or more memory cards and acontrol circuit (not shown). System interface 1314 may also include aninput/output (I/O) interface 1320 to interface one or more I/O bridges(e.g. I/O bridge 1324) or I/O devices with the processor bus 1312. Oneor more I/O controllers and/or I/O devices may be connected with the I/Obus 1326, such as I/O controller 1328 and I/O device 1330, asillustrated.

I/O device 1330 may also include an input device (not shown), such as analphanumeric input device, including alphanumeric and other keys forcommunicating information and/or command selections to the processors1302-1306. Another type of user input device includes cursor control,such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys for communicatingdirection information and command selections to the processors 1302-1306and for controlling cursor movement on the display device.

System 1300 may include a dynamic storage device, referred to as mainmemory 1316, or a random access memory (RAM) or other computer-readabledevices coupled to the processor bus 1312 for storing information andinstructions to be executed by the processors 1302-1306. Main memory1316 also may be used for storing temporary variables or otherintermediate information during execution of instructions by theprocessors 1302-1306. System 1300 may include a read only memory (ROM)and/or other static storage device coupled to the processor bus 1312 forstoring static information and instructions for the processors1302-1306. The system set forth in FIG. 13 is but one possible exampleof a computer system that may employ or be configured in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure.

According to one embodiment, at least some of the above methods andtechniques described herein may be performed by computer system 1300 inresponse to processor 1304 executing one or more sequences of one ormore machine-readable instructions contained in main memory 1316. Theseinstructions may be read into main memory 1316 from anothermachine-readable medium, such as a storage device. Execution of thesequences of instructions contained in main memory 1316 may causeprocessors 1302-1306 to perform the process steps described herein. Inalternative embodiments, circuitry may be used in place of or incombination with the software instructions. Thus, embodiments of thepresent disclosure may include both hardware and software components.

A machine readable medium includes any mechanism for storing ortransmitting information in a form (e.g., software, processingapplication) readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). Such media maytake the form of, but is not limited to, non-volatile media and volatilemedia. Non-volatile media includes optical or magnetic disks. Volatilemedia includes dynamic memory, such as main memory 1316. Common forms ofmachine-readable media may include, but are not limited to, magneticstorage media; optical storage media; magneto-optical storage media;read only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); erasableprogrammable memory (e.g., EPROM and EEPROM); flash memory; or othertypes of media suitable for storing electronic instructions.

Embodiments of the present disclosure include various operations, whichare described in this specification. The operations may be performed byhardware components or may be embodied in machine-executableinstructions, which may be used to cause a general-purpose orspecial-purpose processor programmed with the instructions to performthe operations. Alternatively, the operations may be performed by acombination of hardware, software, and/or firmware.

Various modifications and additions can be made to the exemplaryembodiments discussed without departing from the scope of the presentinvention. For example, while the embodiments described above refer toparticular features, the scope of this invention also includesembodiments having different combinations of features and embodimentsthat do not include all of the described features. Accordingly, thescope of the present invention is intended to embrace all suchalternatives, modifications, and variations together with allequivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of tracking computing devicescomprising: at a first computing device: receiving first sensor datafrom a second computing device at a first rate, the first sensor datafrom a sensor of a plurality of sensors of the second computing device,each sensor of the plurality of sensors associated with a respectiveidentifier; determining that the first sensor data indicates areconfiguration condition; responsive to determining the first sensordata indicates the reconfiguration condition, transmitting areconfiguration message to the second computing device, thereconfiguration message including the identifier associated with thesensor and a value corresponding to a second rate, wherein, whenreceived by the second computing device, the reconfiguration messagecauses the second computing device to begin providing sensor data fromthe sensor to the first computing device at the second rate; receiving,from a third computing device different than the second computingdevice, a first request for second sensor data obtainable from thesecond computing device; responsive to receiving the first request,transmitting a second request for the second sensor data to the secondcomputing device; subsequent to transmitting the second request for thesecond sensor data, receiving the requested sensor data from the secondcomputing device; and transmitting the requested sensor data from thefirst computing device to the third computing device.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the first sensor data includes a location of the secondcomputing device and the reconfiguration condition includes the secondcomputing device crossing a geographic boundary.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein the first sensor data includes acceleration of the secondcomputing device and the reconfiguration condition includes anacceleration threshold.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the firstsensor data includes an environmental metric and the reconfigurationcondition includes a limit for the environmental metric.
 5. The methodof claim 4, wherein the environmental metric includes at least one of anair quality metric and temperature.
 6. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising, at the first computing device: receiving a location of thesecond computing device; and in response to determining the sensor dataindicates the reconfiguration condition, transmitting the location ofthe second computing device to a computing device different than thesecond computing device.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising,at the first computing device: receiving a low power notification fromthe second computing device; and responsive to receiving the low powernotification, transmitting a request for sensor data to the secondcomputing device.
 8. A method of tracking computing devices comprising:at a first computing device: periodically transmitting sensor data at afirst rate from to a second computing device, the sensor datacorresponding to a sensor of a plurality of sensors of the firstcomputing device; receiving a reconfiguration message from the secondcomputing device, the reconfiguration message including an identifierassigned to the sensor and a value corresponding to a second ratedifferent from the first rate; responsive to receiving thereconfiguration message, periodically transmitting the sensor data atthe second rate; responsive to a low power condition of the firstcomputing device, each of transmitting a low power notification to thesecond computing device and stopping periodic transmission of the sensordata; subsequent to stopping periodic transmission of sensor data,receiving a sensor data request from the second computing device; andresponsive to receiving the sensor data request, transmitting the sensordata to the second computing device.
 9. The method of claim 8, whereinthe sensor data includes a location of the first computing device andthe reconfiguration condition includes the second computing devicecrossing a geographic boundary.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein thesensor data includes acceleration of the first computing device and thereconfiguration condition includes an acceleration threshold.
 11. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the sensor data includes an environmentalmetric and the reconfiguration condition includes a limit for theenvironmental metric.
 12. The method of claim 8 further comprising, atthe first computing device: responsive to receiving a request from thesecond computing device for requested sensor data obtainable from thefirst computing device, transmitting the requested sensor data to thesecond computing device.
 13. A system for tracking computing devices,the system comprising: a first computing device comprising one or moreprocessors and one or more memories storing machine readableinstructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe one or more processors to: receive first sensor data from a secondcomputing device at a first rate, the first sensor data from a sensor ofa plurality of sensors of the second computing device, each sensor ofthe plurality of sensors associated with a respective identifier;determine that the first sensor data indicates a reconfigurationcondition; responsive to determining the first sensor data indicates thereconfiguration condition, transmit a reconfiguration message to thesecond computing device, the reconfiguration message including theidentifier associated with the sensor and a value corresponding to asecond rate, wherein, when received by the second computing device, thereconfiguration message causes the second computing device to beginproviding sensor data from the sensor to the first computing device atthe second rate; receive, from a third computing device different thanthe second computing device, a first request for second sensor dataobtainable from the second computing device; responsive to receiving thefirst request, transmit a second request for the second sensor data tothe second computing device; subsequent to transmitting the secondrequest for the second sensor data, receive the requested sensor datafrom the second computing device; and transmit the requested sensor datafrom the first computing device to the third computing device.
 14. Thesystem of claim 13, wherein the sensor data includes at least one of alocation of the second computing device and the reconfigurationcondition includes the second computing device crossing a geographicboundary.
 15. The system of claim 13, wherein the sensor data includesacceleration of the second computing device and the reconfigurationcondition includes an acceleration threshold.
 16. The system of claim13, wherein the sensor data includes an environmental metric and thereconfiguration condition includes a limit for the environmental metric.17. The system of claim 13, wherein the instructions further cause theone or more processors to: receive a low power notification from thesecond computing device; and responsive to receiving the low powernotification, transmit a request for sensor data to the second computingdevice.
 18. A system for tracking computing devices, the systemcomprising: a first computing device comprising one or more processorsand one or more memories storing machine readable instructions that,when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or moreprocessors to: periodically transmit sensor data at a first rate from toa second computing device, the sensor data corresponding to a sensor ofa plurality of sensors of the first computing device; receive areconfiguration message from the second computing device, thereconfiguration message including an identifier assigned to the sensorand a value corresponding to a second rate different from the firstrate; responsive to receiving the reconfiguration message, periodicallytransmitting the sensor data at the second rate; responsive to a lowpower condition of the first computing device, each of transmitting alow power notification to the second computing device and stoppingperiodic transmission of sensor data; subsequent to stopping periodictransmission of sensor data, receiving a sensor data request from thesecond computing device; and responsive to receiving the sensor datarequest, transmitting sensor data to the second computing device. 19.The system of claim 13, wherein the sensor data includes at least one ofa location of the first computing device, an acceleration of the firstcomputing device, and an environmental metric.
 20. The system of claim13, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processorsto: receive a request from the second computing device for requestedsensor data obtainable from the first computing device; and transmit therequested sensor data to the second computing device.